Spanish adolescents' attitudes towards sexting: Validation of a scale

Lines of Action for Sexting Prevention and Intervention: A Systematic Review

Sexting has become a new form of intimate interaction in line with contemporary communication methods. This phenomenon often leads to positive outcomes, but it can also have negative repercussions depending on the situation, such as the context of the relationship, and whether it is consensual or coercive. Despite this, the main types of sexting behaviors (sending, receiving, and third-party forwarding) must be addressed in order to promote safe and healthy practices. However, the approach to tackling this phenomenon remains unclear. This systematic review sought to summarize the lines of action proposed or conducted in the scientific literature to address sexting, to help researchers and educators create and evaluate effective programs. A systematic search of 21 databases was conducted; only articles relating to sexting education, prevention, and intervention among child and adolescent populations were considered. In total, 456 articles were identified, 91 of which were included for the purposes of this research. The results highlighted a need to respond to the aforementioned sexting behaviors and to tackle the resulting conflict situations. Although interventions across different areas are recommended (e.g., health, family, policies, legal advice, law enforcement, technology experts, and even society as a whole), most studies agree that school is the most practical setting for intervention. Thus, the 15 lines of action identified in this systematic review must all be considered to effectively address sexting in childhood and adolescence.

Intimate Partner Cyberstalking, Sexism, Pornography, and Sexting in Adolescents: New Challenges for Sex Education

Background: Within the context of the widespread use of technologies by adolescents, the objectives of this study were to identify the perpetrators of intimate partner cyberstalking (IPCS) in adolescents; to analyze the relationship between IPCS and gender, age, sexting behaviors, pornography consumption, and ambivalent sexism; and to investigate the influence of the study variables as predictors of IPCS and determine their moderating role. Methods: Participants were 993 Spanish students of Secondary Education, 535 girls and 458 boys with mean age 15.75 (SD = 1.47). Of the total sample, 70.3% (n = 696) had or had had a partner. Results: Boys perform more sexting, consume more pornographic content, and have more hostile and benevolent sexist attitudes than girls. However, girls perpetrate more IPCS than boys. The results of the hierarchical multiple regression indicate that hostile sexism is a predictor of IPCS, as well as the combined effect of Gender × Pornography and Benevolent Sexism × Sexting. Conclusions: it is essential to implement sexual affective education programs in schools in which Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are incorporated so that boys and girls can experience their relationships, both offline and online, in an egalitarian and violence-free way.

Construction and Validation of the Intimate Images Diffusion Scale Among Adolescents

The digital age has produced changes in the way of relating between adolescents, causing the appearance of problems such as cyberbullying, addiction to social networks or the diffusion of images of personal and intimate content without consent. The aim of this research is the estimation of this last phenomenon through the construction and validation of a scale that estimates the prevalence with which adolescents exchange images of sexual content through mobile phone, chats or social media (Instagram or Facebook, among others). Through a sample of 602 adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years (M = 14.92, SD = 1.591), an analysis of the reliability of the scale was performed using Cronbach Alpha statistic as well as a confirmatory factor analysis. The scale showed high reliability (α = 0.976; Ω = 0.981) and makes an estimation of the prevalence of images exchange through 20 items that, for the first time, identify the relationship with the person who publishes or disseminates the images and the person in it. Results also showed that the diffusion and exchange of images are more frequent than the exchange of text messages with sexual content. In addition, differences had been found in terms of gender, since girls publish and send intimate images more frequently while boys are the ones that most frequently receive this type of content. In short, a scale with good psychometric properties had been developed to estimate the use of social networks and mobile phone for the diffusion of images of sexual content in the adolescent population.